LatinNews Daily - 04 January 2019

In brief: Brazil

* Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has said that the proposed pension reform being discussed by his new government will establish a minimum retirement age of 57 for women and 62 for men, to be gradually increased throughout his term with the possibility for the following administration to then raise it to 63 or 64. This initial minimum retirement age is lower than that in the proposal put forward by former president Michel Temer (2016-1 January 2019) which is currently under discussion in congress. A pension reform is a top priority for Bolsonaro and his economy minister, Paulo Guedes, to alleviate some of the pressure on the country’s overstretched public finances, but the new administration is yet to present a clear structure for its proposed reform.